The Hellfire Club
by Harmony21
Summary: A lover's quarel results in Verdant being set ablaze, endangering a member of the team.
1. Chapter 1

Shadows and thunder, fire and lightning.

Verdant was ablaze.

In a rage, a jealous boyfriend had attacked his girlfriend and her lover with a concealed blowtorch, trapping them in a highly flammable area and burning them to a crisp.

The fire spread quickly, and by the time anyone in the crowded club noticed the smoke it was too late.

Alone in the Foundry below, Felicity was unaware of the chaos above. The club basement was protected by concrete and steel; at worst, the concrete would blacken and the steel would get hot, but she was in no immediate danger.

It was the frantic banging on the door leading from the Foundry to the club that finally attracted her attention. Cautiously, she went up the stairs to see who it was and was promptly trampled as the door was thrown back violently from the other side.

Nearly one hundred terrified club goers flew down the stairs and into the lair proper, leaving Felicity tumbling downward to land in a senseless heap at the bottom; ominous smoke and heat poured down the stairs after the patrons.

Sprawled on her back, Felicity could only watch, too disoriented to try to stop them as they began a mini riot, wrecking havoc all over the lair. The computers were destroyed, the glass cases smashed. Furniture was overturned and anything moveable - which was almost everything in the Foundry - was either taken or ruined.

They were still rioting as she drifted into unconsciousness, unable to fight off the pain of her injuries.


	2. Chapter 2

Returning from patrol, Oliver parked his bike and as he made his way towards the concealed back door in the alley behind Verdant, he stopped dead, staring.

The door was wide open. The entrance was littered heavily with garbage and as he approached, he smelled the lingering smoke.

Fear and rage shot through him; clutching his bow tightly in one hand, he took off around the corner of the building, skidding to a halt at the sight of the black, skeletal remains of his father's old factory.

Sadness engulfed him. His club was dead.

It was gutted, completely gone. That much was obvious, even in the dim light offered by some nearby streetlights.

The building itself and the club could be rebuilt, stronger than before. Oliver's only other worry at the moment was . . .

"FE-LIC-I-TY!"

To anyone listening, his roar of terror could be heard five blocks away. Fortunately for Oliver, no one was within earshot.

Taking off again, he returned to the alley door, carefully stepping around the overturned furniture and broken shards of shattered glass. All the while, he scanned the entirety of the Foundry, looking for any sign of Felicity.

As he neared the stairs, a feminine groan caught his attention. Oliver's heart barged into his throat when he saw Felicity, still lying where she'd fallen; having not noticed her, the rioters had carelessly thrown furniture on top of her.

Rage, and fear for her coloured his vision a dozen shades of red as he frantically tore the offending pieces off her and bent to check on her condition.

Her glasses were gone, lost in the mess. She blinked slowly up at him, confusion and relief written all over her face.

There was a lot of blood, and Oliver swallowed, trying not to panic as to how badly Felicity might be hurt.

She reached for him then; though she was normally strong, her grip on his hood was weak. "Hi Oliver," she managed to say; her voice was barely a whisper, hoarse from smoke inhalation. "Hospital, please?"

Nodding once, he went to change and after a few minutes, he returned. Carefully lifting her up, he took one last hopeless look around the dark, destroyed Foundry and whisked her out the back door in search of help.


	3. Chapter 3

Outside the wrecked club, Oliver got Felicity into the back of the team van and tore out onto the street toward the hospital like a speed demon.

Every time they went over a bump, she moaned and Oliver's heart ached for her, but he wanted to get her help ASAP.

Finally, after a tense ride, the van squealed to a stop in front of the hospital's emergency room. His every muscle rigid with fear, Oliver gently took Felicity from the van and hurried through the automatic doors.

"I need help here!" He shouted as soon as he entered.

Two women in nurse scrubs, a taller redhead and a short blond hurried over. "Mr Queen, what happened?"

Ignoring the use of his name, he managed a lie that skirted the truth. He mentioned Verdant and that she had been at the club and been trampled when the fire broke out. Felicity's condition certainly added credibility to his words.

The shorter blond nurse glared at him. "Why didn't you wait for an ambulance?" The anger and rebuke in her tone set off his temper, but with effort, he forced it down. Now was not the time to get into a fight.

"It would have taken too long," he said, his words clipped.

"Did you get her name?" The red haired nurse asked. Her voice was soft and she seemed kinder than the blond.

Oliver nodded. "Felicity. I didn't get much more than that."

He didn't care that he was lying, he just wanted them to stop asking questions and get Felicity the help she needed.

Finally, they took her away for examination and Oliver forced himself to physically relax. Inside, his emotions were raging like a stampeding tornado.

He paced the waiting room for a few minutes, working up the nerve to call Diggle and Roy. When he did so, using the pay phone, both men were horrified by the fact that the club was gone and the Foundry destroyed.

"We'll need to start over," Oliver said. He desperately wanted to see Felicity but didn't dare go searching for her. "I'm at the hospital with Felicity." Then he said something his former self would never have uttered. "Please come."

Fighting back tears and his emotional tsunami, Oliver hung up. His only option now was to wait, and hope that when he saw Felicity again, their reunion came with good news.


	4. Chapter 4

The waiting room of Starling General Hospital reeked with fear. Frightened people were avoiding one corner, where Oliver, Dig and Roy were nervously pacing as they waited for news. Every time someone approached, they received an immediate death glare and, times three, it was enough to keep the curious away.

Everyone avoided them, save for a black haired man wearing scrubs and a white lab coat.

"Oliver Queen?"

Sitting in a chair next to Dig, Oliver shot to his feet. "Yes?"

The doctor held out a hand and gave him a firm handshake. "Dr. Jesse Logan, I'm in charge of Felicity's care."

"How is she?" Roy asked.

"I'm sorry, who're you?" Dr Logan asked, looking curiously at Roy and Dig.

"They're friends," said Oliver, bringing the doctor's attention back to him. "How is she?" He asked again.

Dr Logan sighed. "She's got a broken wrist and a bit of a concussion, but it should go away within a few days. Other than that, she's remarkably unscathed."

The relief from the three men was almost a physical thing. "How soon can we see her?"

"She's been put on medication to deal with the concussion, but should be coming around shortly. I'll have a nurse come get you when she's awake."

Oliver shook Dr Logan's hand again. "Thank you," he said, and meant it.

Dr Logan smiled as he shook hands with Roy and Dig also. "She should be fine. The nurses told me you found her and considering her condition in which she came in, she's a tough young woman." With a smile, he returned to his rounds.

You have no idea how tough she is, Oliver thought proudly as the three of them sat down again to wait.


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Felicity was aware of when her medication wore off was of someone holding her hand. Partially awake, she squeezed and the other person immediately squeezed back; it was desperate enough to be almost painful.

Stifling a groan, she managed to open her eyes a crack and saw to her relief that Oliver sat beside her, clinging to her like she was his lifeline.

The love and tenderness in his expression as he watched her broke her heart.

"Hi," she whispered.

Tears gathered in his eyes; he seemed on the verge of crying, something she'd never seen him do before.

"Oliver?" She frowned at him in concern. "Are you ok?"

He smiled. "Considering what happened, I should be asking you that."

She shrugged off his words. "I'll be fine. The doctors want to keep me overnight; it looks like I'll be able to go home tomorrow."

He clutched her hand tightly in his. "I should have been there with you," he said, and Felicity could see he was speeding towards the guilt road again.

"Now you listen and listen good," she snapped, her voice suddenly sharp.

Oliver winced, hearing the coming of Felicity's famous loud voice.

"You were out on patrol, don't you dare blame yourself for things you can't control. You always do that to yourself." Her expression and voice softened. "You're not Atlas Oliver, you can't bear all the worries of the world."

He stared at her, awed as always by her strength and belief in him. "I need to protect you Felicity. It's all I've left in my life."

She smiled at him. "You have a lot of people in your corner. Your burdens aren't yours to bear alone. We won't let you."

He smiled at her and got to his feet. "I'll be back later ok? Get some rest."

With one last squeeze of her hand, he left the room, determined to guard her until she was ready to go home.


	6. Chapter 6

Since his return, Oliver didn't make a habit of getting into arguments with civilians, but the shouting match he'd gotten into with a nurse definitely qualified as a fight.

"Sir," the nurse had said. "Visiting hours are over."

Parked resolutely outside Felicity's door in case she needed him, Oliver had refused to leave. It was late, well past the time when most came to visit loved ones; he just glared at the woman, and didn't move.

"Sir?"

"What?" He'd snapped, glaring at her.

Her tone turned cold. "Time to leave."

He shook his head. "Nope."

What followed was a screaming match loud enough to cause headaches. In the end, Diggle had had to come with Roy to calm Oliver down.

Even still, Oliver'd sulked, like a reprimanded child. As they left the hospital the morning after the club fire, he glared out the window the entire way to the second lair, his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

Diggle shook his head as he drove. "I can't believe you, man. "It's not like you to get into a fight like that."

Oliver didn't respond.

"Let him be Dig," said Felicity, who was sitting next to Oliver. "We have a lot to do."

They got to the lair and took stock. There wasn't much there, even though Oliver had set it aside in case the Foundry was compromised.

It was definitely not useable, Felicity thought sadly as she looked around the space in which Oliver had been at his lowest point last year.

She glanced over at him. This place seemed to make him depressed because he was staring around him, looking lost.

"Oliver?" Out of habit, she put a hand on his arm, and felt him stiffen with determination. The anger swept through him so fast, it almost burned her.

"I'm going to find who destroyed the club," he growled. "And I'm going to make them pay."

From anyone else, it could have been an idle threat, meant to scare. But Felicity, Dig and Roy knew just how serious Oliver was.

Felicity gulped. She felt sorry for the culprit.

Almost.

TWO MONTHS LATER . . .

Felicity sighed, shifting in her chair. The new lair wasn't quite like the old one, and her chair was still uncomfortable, but considering the lengths Oliver went to to bring the arsonist to justice, she figured she could put up with it.

In the weeks after her discharge, they'd turned the second lair into a temporary base, while - after turning over the arsonist to Lance once he'd caught him - Oliver had begun the process of rebuilding the old one, and building a stronger, better Verdant.

The new club was built of concrete and steel, and Felicity knew it would last. The interior looked little different from before, and was packed with patrons every night.

The second lair was closed down, and the Foundry opened its doors for Starling City, ready to mete out justice once again.

Felicity smiled at Oliver as he came into view, dressed in his leathers, his mask on.

She stuck her comm in her ear and tossed his to him. "Ready?"

He caught the device with a grin. Diggle and Roy were already out, waiting for him to join them. "Ready!"

"Be safe out there," said Felicity, turning back to her new computers and bringing up traffic cams.

Standing behind her, he bent to place a loving kiss to her cheek. "Wait up for me," he whispered before vanishing out the door.

Felicity watched him go, then glanced toward the stairs she'd fallen down the night of the fire. They were locked tight now, the code for them known only to the team. She was never falling down stairs again.

Smiling to herself, she grinned as she heard Oliver call for her over the comms.

"Talk to me Felicity!"

"Justice here we come."


End file.
